Broken Glass
by Fyrepen33
Summary: After Renesmee is separated from the Cullens during the confrontation with the Volturi, a strange twist of fate brings her face to face with her old family... ten years later. AU, post Breaking Dawn, co-written with Mistflyer1102.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

New Arrivals

The rain fell in gray sheets in the city of Kennebunkport Maine with a ferocious intensity, enough to deter the neighbor's cat from going outside for the day, but not enough to delay the opening of the local high school. Mud sucked eagerly at the feet of unlucky walkers and water from the road soaked them to the bone through coats and cloth.

A large yellow school bus pulled up to the high school entrance, spraying water into the unlucky students on the nearby sidewalk. Mud-slinging fights began amongst the more braver and sometimes older students as non – participants used backpacks, raincoats and other items to shield themselves from the flying missiles.

I used a spiral-bound notebook to shield the slightly – covered side of my face from the mud as I stepped off the bus. I was grateful for the boots; there was a deep puddle of water right in front of where the bus steps ended. I moved slowly because the ringleaders of the mud fight, namely my friend Lexi Cromwell, tended to attack the fast-moving targets, marking them as desperate escapees. I know that usually one would want to get out of a rainstorm as fast as possible, but the ringleaders usually wanted to give an escapee a parting gift before entering the sanctuary of the school. So the trick was just to shield one's self and then pray that they would get into the building unscathed.

"Nessie!"

I turned and nearly panicked when I spotted Lexi's figure approaching… or at least I thought it was her figure. Instead of her usual black jacket, she wore a plastic, bright red, clearly brand-new raincoat. She scowled when we made eye contact as she joined me on the path up to the school.

"Don't say a word… I know I look like a freaking target board!" she hissed angrily as she walked past me in an effort to get to the school as fast as possible. Thrown off guard, I stood there or a moment, and then quickly began to follow her.

"Well, other than the new raincoat, how were your last few weeks of summer?" I asked, now walking in sync with her to the school entrance.

"Awful," she snapped. "First, a family moved into that empty house that's down the road a ways from my place, the one in the woods that we all think is haunted. Second, my mom made me clean and dress up a bit so that I look 'remotely presentable'. The second-to-final insult was that she made _me_ deliver the customary 'welcome-to-the-neighborhood' cookies. You know my mom… she can't bake to save her life! Then I find that the new family has a social _queen…_"

"Wait, wait, wait," I interrupted, cutting her rant off. She glared at me, as though interrupting her complaining was the most grievous insult she'd ever heard. "Slow down, start over, and explain again," I said. "You were going too fast for me to follow."

Lexi let out a sound of irritation, but didn't speak again until we were in the safety of the school entrance. We were safe in here; no one would dare throw mud in the pristine halls especially with Principal Franco still in the administrator's office. There was a rumor going around that the last kid who threw mud in here was hauled out of the school and never seen again after that. So not even Lexi would dare cross the principal, and that was saying something since Lexi loved causing trouble and chaos. It was a hobby for her, and she was considered daring by our school's standards.

But she still wouldn't cross Franco.

As we pulled our raincoats off, Lexi said, "So as I was _trying_ to say, the new family was huge. The dad's a doctor, the mom's the stay-at-home-parent, and they've got six kids. The older three are the following; this princessy sort of girl, a guy who has got to be eating rocks for breakfast and play on the football team, and a moody sort of kid who was staring at me as though I was breakfast or something when I went over. The younger three is this shrimp who is probably a very short freshman, this girl who is super-quiet, and this tallish sort of boy with goldish hair." Lexi paused her explanation so she could catch a breath and have the energy to say, "They're all adopted so they've already paired off."

"In other words, someone has to tell Lianna that it's paws off then," I said, eyeing the sophomore class's social queen as she drifted by, her gaggle of loyal followers close behind her. They were all covered in mud while she remained clean, and it wasn't hard to guess that they had served as her living shields while she crossed the courtyard.

"Or we could say nothing and get a few days' worth of entertainment out of it," Lexi suggested, watching as Lianna discreetly selected the two lucky followers who were going to be her close cohorts for that day. "I'm thinking she'll go for the tallish kid, if he and his siblings do show up here. Tallish kid's girlfriend doesn't strike me as the type to flare up and protect him from being stolen."

I laughed at Lexi's display of calculation; it was in her nature to sort of take over a situation and make the best of it… the best for her of course. Plus, seeing Lianna get rejected by a guy would be something to watch. Boys never rejected her, so a reality check would be good for her.

The bell suddenly rang above us, sharp peals ringing throughout the halls. Lexi and I managed to beat the crowd to the list of homerooms on the wall near the entrance. Lexi threw a fit once she realized she had Dragone, or the Dragon as we liked to call him, for not only homeroom, but for English too. She hated him, he hated her. Everyone went home happy.

I had a teacher named Ms. Jysella. She was new this year, and I only knew that because my mother had been talking about her to Lexi's mother a couple of days ago. Still, I was apprehensive when I finally entered homeroom (after peeling Lexi off of me first, a near-impossible task to begin with), and took my seat in the middle row, second seat from the front.

"Hey, Woodrow."

I twisted in my seat to find Lew grinning at me. "Hey," he whispered, "Have you seen Lexi at all this morning? The guys and I were waiting for her to join the fight earlier in the courtyard. She missed a juicy victim."

"She was the bright red beacon in the rain this morning," I whispered back, knowing Lexi wasn't going to appreciate me for alerting her comrades to the fact that she had a bright red raincoat. Apparently one lost respect once they had bright clothing in Lexi's circles. "Who was the 'juicy victim'?" I asked, frowning. I hoped that no one had been hurt and was stuck in the nurse's office on the first day of school.

Lew shrugged. "New kids. They had a shiny silver Volvo, and the car was just screaming at us to get it muddied," he replied. "So we obliged it and gave it another paint job. The driver and the passengers didn't get out though. We're sure it wasn't an admin because they parked in a 'Students Only' spot."

"They were probably plotting their revenge on the idiot who got mud on their new car," I said, rolling my eyes in annoyance. "How did you know that there were a few kids?"

Lew shrugged. "It's gloomy and rainy out there; there is no way they could have seen us," he said dismissively. "As for the number, well, we just kind of guessed that there were multiple people in it."

I nodded as Ms. Jysella approached the front of the room. I turned around, and focused on paying attention to the usual welcome speeches, list of rules and expectations, and the handing out of the usual emergency notices and papers to sign. It was the same, usual, boring routine.

It wasn't until third period that I met one of the new kids. That was Algebra, and I had been messing around with Lexi and her compass, mainly just trying to stick an eraser on the end of the point so she couldn't stab another student with it. Predictably, she had been furious to learn that she missed out on tossing mud at a Volvo, and a new one at that. While she couldn't drive, she loved messing up other people's cars using other methods than joyriding, which I'm sure she would have done if she could drive.

It was a true miracle that the police hadn't gotten involved yet.

"Cromwell!" the teacher, a thin woman named Marseille, shouted from the front of the room. When Lexi finally fell quiet, Marseille fluffed the front of her dress before announcing, "Attention, class, we have a new student today with us. Now I expect you to treat her with the same respect that you would to a teacher or fellow student." She was quiet until the titters in her room silenced… I wondered if she had any idea of the low level of respect for her in our class. Then she continued, saying, "Her name is Isabella Hale, and she recently moved here from Ashland, Wisconsin. I expect all of you to help her transition into this school; you were all new students at one point and I'm sure you all remember how terrifying it was for you on your first day."

Lexi's hand shot up like a bullet, and I hissed, "Lexi, no smart remarks when she's in this particular mood! Remember what happened last year when your teacher was in this same mood and you got all smart with them?" But Lexi ignored me, keeping her hand up and maintaining her focus on the teacher. That was when I spotted Isabella Hale enter the room, clutching her books close. She looked… oddly familiar as though I had seen her somewhere else before.

"Yes Miss Cromwell?" Marseille asked, pleased to have the appearance of running a strict classroom that was behaving while the new student was actually observing us.

Lexi shattered that illusion for us. "How do you expect us to remember our first days in school when you're going to be forcing math junk into our brains? We all don't have photographic memories after all," she replied smoothly, smirking when her response brought on more hidden laughter.

Ms. Marseille looked as though she had swallowed a particularly sour lemon. Recovering from the smart remark, she turned to Isabella and said, "Miss Isabella, why don't you sit in the seat behind Mark, second row from the window, third seat back?"

"Bella," the girl corrected, and Ms. Marseille blinked as though surprised that the girl had actually spoken. "If you don't mind, I prefer Bella," she said again, in case Marseille had missed it the first time.

"My apologies Isabella. Please take your seat," Ms. Marseille said, gesturing to the appropriate seat.

"We have twenty math teachers in this school, and we got stuck with the only one who has short-term memory loss," Lexi groaned, burying her face into her arms.

"At least we have each other. Besides, she won't remember to penalize you when you don't do your homework," I whispered back as Marseille began passing out math textbooks.

"Yes, thank God."

"Alexandra Cromwell! Stop talking or it's detention for you!" Marseille snapped from across the room. She turned back to Bella and began getting her book registered.

"I tell you, the woman has the ears of a bat," Lexi muttered even lower.

"I heard that!" Marseille spat. She looked tenderly back at Bella and said, "I apologize Miss Hale, that you have to consort with degenerates like Miss Cromwell. Her little friend Vanessa Woodley is much, much better behaved."

I made brief eye contact with Hale. We stared at each other for a few moments, and then I looked away first. I had the nagging feeling that I had seen her before, but from where I didn't know. I reached underneath my shirt, and pulled out my lucky charm. It was a gold locket that I had had for as long as I could remember, but the clasp was broken so it never opened, and Lord knows how many times I had tried in the past.

For some odd reason, I felt that I was going to need it.

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A/N: So this story, Broken Glass is written in collaboration with Fyrepen33, and we'll be alternating chapters. To clear up any confusion, this is an alternate timeline after Breaking Dawn. It takes place ten years after BD ended, and is under the story that the fight with the Volturi did occur, and Jacob escaped with Renesmee via airplane. As for what happened after that, well, you'll have to keep reading to find out :). Okay, all original characters belong to both of us, and require our permission to use elsewhere (you can ask either one of us). The plotline of the story itself is credited to Fyrepen33. Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and all other related media.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Reality Check

"Okay, if you put a whoopee cushion under her seat, and she knew it was you, and then you did the same thing the next day, do you think she'd remember that it was you who put it there?" Lexi's eyes were sparkling.

"That depends…did she catch you, or did someone rat you out?" I asked. Ms. Marseille was in the front of the room, droning on and on about how we would learn how to do something involving percents of fractions, or something pointless like that.

"Uh…lets say someone ratted me out. I've never been caught." Lexi answered, her voice echoing the pride of seven years of troublemaking

"She probably wouldn't remember, but then wouldn't that person rat you out again?" I asked.

"No…I would have taught that person a lesson after class, so they wouldn't dare pull another stunt again." Lexi answered, grinning. Suddenly, the bell rang, and the students dashed out, obviously eager to get away from Marseille's classroom. I could tell I was going to be in for a long year, at least in this class.

"What class do you have next?" I asked, looking at my schedule, trying to decipher it.

"Science. Because apparently they think we need to learn about why things happen in the world. You?" Lexi grumbled.

"English, then lunch." I told her. Lexi paused at her locker to look her schedule over.

"See you at lunch then." She answered, pulling a notebook out of her locker, and then she stalked over to the hall that lead to the sophomore science room. I pulled my English notebook out of my locker, and walked straight down the hall, and then turned left.

The English room was the first on the left, and as I entered, I saw that a few students were already there, but there was no teacher. I groaned mentally when I saw Lianna was there with the 'shields' that had been chosen as her partners in crime for the day.

_Great. Why couldn't Lexi be in this class? Now I'm stuck with Lianna for the year._ I thought as I walked to an empty table and took a spot. I didn't care who my desk partner was, as long as it wasn't her, or one of her cronies. I opened my notebook, and began absently doodling to try to pass the time. Students were filing in, but no one came to sit with me.

"Okay, class, settle down. Don't get too comfortable in the seats you're in, because they'll be changed." The teacher's voice said. I looked up and saw her. She had long dark hair that was tied back in a braid, and her skin was a russet color. She surveyed the classroom as it fell silent. The teacher waited until the room was completely silent before speaking again.

"Welcome to grade ten English honors class. My name is Ms. Clearwater. Our curriculum includes, but is not limited to, exploration with fiction, non -fiction, mythology, and creative writing. Standard classroom rules apply, and if you don't mind please show up to class on time because I hate filling out detention slips and dealing with complaining parents, but never the less, I will if I have to. Just work with me this year, and I'm sure we can get through the year without any bloodshed." She said, and I noticed she seemed to be glaring right to a desk in the back of the room as she said it.

I turned and saw two students sitting together that could very easily be related. And while I was thinking people were related, they both could've been related to Bella from Algebra. I had a guess that they were part of the new family.

The girl was short, and she had short black hair that seemed to stick out, and she had a pixie like appearance. Her skin was pale, (almost as pale as mine), but it was as pale as Bella's had been. Her topaz eyes were focused intently on Ms. Clearwater.

The boy sitting next to her seemed to be tall, but I wasn't sure if he really was or if it was in comparison to the girl next to him. He was scowling, and…was he giving the teacher the evil eye? His hair was bronze, reddish, same shade of red as my hair was. His skin was pale like the girl next to him and Bella's, and I could see that his eyes were the same liquid topaz, as he glared at the teacher.

I turned back and looked at the teacher, but she wasn't looking at them anymore. She was reviewing her policies on homework, discipline, and so on. Then she began reseating us, based off of a seating chart that was displayed on the Smart board that was in the front of the room, and as usual, it was based off of alphabetical order, so I was moved to the back of the room.

I was spacing out for the rest of the class, mostly because she rambled on about the expectations of the class since it was an honors English class, in the tenth grade, and so on.

I was grateful when the bell rang, because I wasn't sure how much more of Lianna flipping her hair in front of me and sending waves of her perfume at me. I hated how my desk was far from the door, because I was anxious to see Lexi. She was waiting in the hall, flipping through a science textbook.

"You're reading it. That's promising for this year." I commented as I walked by.

"Yeah…don't get used to it. You'll never believe who's teaching science this year. Mr. Monroe. Hey, you ready for lunch?" Lexi asked, shutting it.

"Yeah…I just need to drop this stuff off in my locker." I told her. The two of us walked.

"So…does the English teacher look like she'll teach us something useful?" Lexi asked as we walked in the busy halls.

"Yeah, but I don't think I'll learn anything. Lianna and her cronies are in that class." I answered. Lexi groaned, and patted my shoulder.

"Hang in there, Nessie. You'll manage. You're tough." Lexi said, sympathetically. We reached my locker, and I began roughly shoving my books in it. Wait. Didn't I have more than just a binder?

"Shoot." I swore. Lexi stopped her chattering.

"What?" She asked, " did you forget gym clothes? I'd offer to let you borrow mine, but I don't think you want them…"

"No…I left my notebook in English. I was in such a hurry to get away from Lianna's perfume." I answered.

"I'll meet you in the front of the cafeteria." Lexi said, and then walked off. I retraced the hall that led from the English room. I was about to open the door when I saw through the window on the door that the two siblings were still there, and they were talking with Ms. Clearwater. Even through the door, I could hear what they were saying.

"…after that fiasco, I left Washington, and I just stopped phasing after that, and I didn't hear anything from him after. Of, course, I had to take up teaching in the one town where you show up again. " Ms. Clearwater was saying.

"Small world." The girl said, her voice like wind chimes. Now that they were standing up, I could see that she was much shorter than her brother.

"How has Seth been?" The boy asked.

"He's been great. I know that he misses you guys." She answered.

"I know that things haven't been great between us, Leah, but we truly are happy to see you again after all these years. You seem happier, and we're happy for you. We hope us being here hasn't caused you to…phase again." The girl piped up. Ms. Clearwater managed a smile.

"Thanks…and don't worry. I had no idea or indication that you were coming. I suppose that since there's no tribe to protect, it's not needed." Ms. Clearwater assured them, her voice tinted with pride.

"We should be going. It was nice to see you again, Leah." The boy said.

"Sure…say hi to the doctor, will you?" Ms. Clearwater said hesitantly.

"Of course." The little girl said, and the two of them started to walk to the door. I had a momentary panic before deciding to bail before getting caught eavesdropping. I half ran to the cafeteria, and as she'd promised, Lexi was waiting impatiently.

"There you are. What took you so long?" She asked as I jogged up.

"I'll explain later. I couldn't find my notebook. I'll get it in class tomorrow." I answered. That was a half-truth. Its not as if I looked for it.

"Let's go. I'm hungry, and I want to eat before the burritos go." Lexi complained. We went to the lunch line and Lexi began giving herself a prep talk for her negotiation with the lunch lady.

"If you hate the school food so much, why don't you bring your own food?" I asked, as we left the lunch line, while Lexi was eyeing her food with a disgusted expression.

"Hey, I'm lucky if Mom remembers to go grocery shopping." Lexi remarked.

"Aw, is Lexi's mommy having a hard time supporting a family since the divorce?" A sneer voice taunted. We looked up and saw Lianna standing there, her cronies giggling behind her. Lexi's eyes narrowed until they were just slits as she glared at Lianna.

"Your face looks pretty Lianna. Did Daddy buy it for you over the summer?" Lexi tone matched Lianna's taunting tone.

"Ah ha ha. You're so funny, Alexandra. And Vanessa! How are you? Your hair looks so awesome. What shade of dye is it?" She teased. Lexi flinched as Lianna used her full name.

"It's natural. Unlike yours" I snapped back.

"You just think you're all that, don't you?" Chelsea (one of her cronies) answered sharply.

"No…we just like to go through the day without mud all over ourselves." Lexi snapped back.

"Right, because if you did, you'd look more like a pig, eh fatty?" Lianna said in a sing -song voice. Lexi's jaw fell open, and I saw her right hand forming into a fist.

"Lexi, wait." I hissed. I had an idea. To Lianna, I said, "Hey, Lianna, want to make a bet?" Her eyes narrowed.

"What kind of bet? What could you have that I could possibly want?" She asked.

"If you win, Lexi and I will do whatever you tell us to do, no matter what it is." I told her.

"Anything?" She asked. When I nodded, with Lexi looking at me in shock, she said, "And what if I lose, by some odd chance?"

"Then you have to come to school tomorrow and stand completely still in the parking lot, with nothing or no one as a shield and while I pelt mud at you. And if you don't do that, I'll tell a few kids in the grade with big mouths about how the reason you weren't in school last year wasn't because you had mono but because you had pimples." Lexi said, an evil grin spreading across her face. A look of horror appeared on all three faces.

"What's the bet?" Lianna growled.

"Okay. I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a new family in town. Three girls and three boys." I began, maintaining eye contact with her.

"So?" She asked, trying to sound like she didn't care.

"So, the girls are awfully pretty…" I hinted, watching her expression. Chelsea recognized this as a cue.

"Not as pretty as Lianna. _Nobody _is as pretty as Lianna is," she said, grinning.

"See the thing is, they're all adopted, and they're all together. So I bet that no matter what Lianna does, she won't get any of the boys to look at her." I challenged.

"You are on. So all I need to do is get their attention? Gosh, however will I do that?" Lianna said, laughing.

We shook on it, and Lianna sauntered across the cafeteria and positioned herself at the door and began looking.

"You two are so dead. No boy has ever rejected Lianna before." Chelsea sniggered.

"We'll see." I muttered as we walked over and stood not too far away.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Lexi muttered as we went.

"Stacy," Lianna said, addressing her other crony, " go outside and tell me when one of them are coming." Stacy went outside and began around. A minute later, she darted in.

"One of them is coming," She said to Lianna. To us, she said, "You two are _so _dead. Just wait until you have to do whatever Lianna tells you to do." Lianna positioned herself.

The door opened, and the small girl from English entered. With her was a tall boy. He had blond hair, and his skin was the same pale color. Unlike her though, his eyes were a dark gold color. He seemed…slightly anxious as the two of them walked in. Lianna performed a brisk hair flip, which ended in a pose as the two of them walked by.

The reaction was instantaneous. His body went stiff, and he looked like he'd smelled something terrible. Her perfume, no doubt. He paused in his walking, but his adopted sister slash girlfriend, gently pulled him along.

"Strike one." Lexi breathed next to me. Lianna recomposed herself, looking mildly insulted. Stacy flitted back in and reported that the rest of family was on their way.

He was either a junior or senior. He was big and burly, with dark hair. He was the kind of person that would be found mainly on the football team. The girl with him was stunningly beautiful, and for a second, Lianna's eyes bugged out. The girl had long blond hair and was the kind of girl that made every other female in the room feel inadequate. It took me a minute to realized that my mouth had fallen open.

"Hey, there." Lianna said sweetly as he went by. He paid her no attention, but the blond haired girl turned and gave her a look of pure daggers. If looks could kill, Lianna would be a smoldering pile of ash right now.

"Strike two." Lexi was grinning now. I knew what she was thinking. Even if we ended up losing this bet, it still would have been worth seeing that look. Lianna was starting to look uncomfortable, and Chelsea and Stacy looked shocked.

Bella appeared next, and the bronze haired boy was with her. He seemed a bit wary, as though he was expecting Lianna to be there. The two of them walked in the direction that the rest of their family had gone in. Lianna struck a stance that she knew that probably worked with other boys. In fact, a few other boys that were walking by stopped dead in their tracks.

He walked by without a second glance.

"Strike three. You are out." Lexi said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Lianna was shaking all over and Stacy and Chelsea ran over, murmuring encouragement.

Lexi and I burst out laughing at Lianna's horrified expression. We couldn't help it. It was just so funny. Lianna's expression was a mixture of horror, shock, and insult, all mixed into one, twisted look.

"Aw…man…I wish I had a camera." Lexi managed to squeeze out between her laughter. Tears started to fill Lianna's eyes and she was hyperventilating. I almost felt sorry for her.

Almost.

Lexi and I walked over, and Lianna looked as though she was having a mental breakdown. Lexi leaned over, and placed a hand on Lianna's shoulder.

"Welcome to reality. You should check in more often." She said, mocking the teasing tone that Lianna had used with us earlier.

"You…and you…you'll pay for this!" She shouted, pointing at the two of us with tears streaming down her face, then storming out of the cafeteria, with her cronies murmuring how pretty she really was, that they weren't worth it, that we weren't worth it, etc.

"Should we be worried?" I asked Lexi.

"_She_ should be worried. I am so looking forward to tomorrow morning." Lexi chortled, grinning at Lianna's retreating back.

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A/N: This chapter was written by me, (Fyrepen33), and I hope you like it. This story is written in collaboration with Mistflyer1102, and all Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. All original characters belong to Mistflyer1102 and I.

Enjoy.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

La mélodie

Ever experience one of those moments where the results are satisfying, but the feeling only lasts for an hour or so before the consequences begin to set in? It was something like that for me and Lexi… but mostly me. All through lunch, Lianna half-sulked, half-cried while wallowing in self-pity that she hadn't managed to ensnare a boy for the first time in her life. What made it worse for her was that kids she'd tortured in the past were emboldened by her loss, and they congratulated the three boys for knocking her down a peg or two like that. At first, the bronze-haired boy and his older sibling were annoyed by the attention while the prospective football player enjoyed the attention immensely. During lunch however, the other two lightened up, and the bronze-haired boy was soon entertaining the other five with something that was an inside joke to them.

Lexi got out clean… she ditched gym after lunch and showed up for the last half-hour of English just to avoid Lianna for a while. I on the other hand made it until last class, when the fates determined that I was going to be sharing the class with Lianna. On top of that, we were placed next to each other. Vengeance on her part was swift and a little painful.

I didn't complain about it once I climbed onto the school bus that would take me back home. Lexi had vanished after school had ended, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know what she had been up to… especially if a certain shiny silver Volvo from this morning was involved. Besides, I would know of the outcome anyway. If she had a defeat of some kind, she would call me at exactly seven p.m. in the middle of my homework so that she could plan out someone's messy demise while keeping the school rulebook (that's me) available to keep whatever she had in mind legal. If she won, she wouldn't call until exactly ten-thirty on the dot to scream her joy into my ear, at a time when I was about to fall asleep. Knowing her this well only reflected upon the long time we've spent together.

The bus came to a stop outside my driveway, and I climbed off the bus and onto the dirt path that lead to the house that my mother and I had lived in for as long as I could remember. To my surprise, Mom's car was in the driveway, meaning that she wasn't at the ER or out on an S&R run either.

Of course, that meant the rules were going to be enforced.

I stepped into the house, and, instead of dumping my backpack onto the ground like I usually did, I carried it upstairs to my room. Then I tiptoed downstairs because if Mom woke up from her nap before it was time to go back to work, there was going to be hell to pay.

"…I know! That woman is just so snobby that it drives me crazy!" Mom's voice said, ringing clearly into the hall. So I wasn't going to get by unnoticed.

"Hey Mom," I said, walking into the kitchen. "Just grabbing a snack and going to go…"

"Practice, I hope," Mom interrupted, lowering the phone mouthpiece away from her mouth. She was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt, an indication that she had at least two days off from work. "I scheduled a month's worth of lessons from Ms. Clarisse, and she expects you to have improved over the summer, not to have forgotten everything."

"I'll do just that," I said, grinning as I took a few cookies out of their box in the Lexi-proofed cabinet. As silly as it sounds, the locks were necessary in order to preserve the sweets and let them survive for longer than a day or so. "Are you becoming a mind reader Mom? I was just about to say that," I added for good measure.

Mom smiled and then went back the phone conversation, saying, "Trish, the doctor is already married so don't even _think_ about planning any weddings…"

They had to be talking about a new coworker. Trish was a nurse at the hospital here in Kennebunkport, and was thirty-two, single, and desperate. All that the guy had to do in order to win her heart was to return some kind of affection.

I sat down at the oak piano bench in the living room and began to play the warm-up scales. Now here was another secret of mine. Ms. Clarisse and Mom didn't know it, but I had already mastered all the pieces they had thrown at me at the beginning of the summer, aided by near perfect memory. It was just that, well, I felt that it was a bad thing to be unusually good at the instrument, and I didn't want to stick out. So, to maintain a cover of sorts, I always made a few errors on purpose, just so that they wouldn't think they had another Mozart or Beethoven on their hands.

That would mean huge publicity. Publicity led to attention. I didn't like having a ton of attention.

After warm-ups, I ran through the assigned exercises from Ms. Clarisse a few times, before reverting back to one of my favorite pieces, _Sheep May Safely Graze_. That was when it happened. As I played, I could hear the music I was creating, but for some reason, I could hear a completely different melody playing in my head again. It had no name that I could ever remember, but it was a melody that had soothed me in my darkest hours. Try as I might, I could not remember the specific name to the song, or where I had heard it before.

I paused in the middle of the song that I had been playing and listened carefully for Mom. She was now in the backyard, probably to get to the more gossipy parts of the conversation. That was fine by me. I didn't want her to hear the song that had been in my head for as long as I could remember.

The house was silent as the beginning of the melody came to my fingertips, flowing river-like through the air around me. I closed my eyes and let my memory and my fingers play the music that I could not see but could hear. I felt freer as the music swelled and the ever present, ever soothing melody continued to be my companion.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, the melody began to break up as it always did, unraveling until it became nothing again. I felt the frustration beginning to build in my chest as I struggled to continue playing. The melody however did not respond to mental threats, and abruptly vanished altogether. Somehow, I knew there were pieces missing, but since I had never seen the original score, there was no way I could try to conjure up the missing components.

Before I could wreak vengeance on the piano for a crime it did not commit, I abruptly stood up and left the piano bench and instead wandered up the stairs to my bedroom. I pulled out my math homework, and as an afterthought, pulled out a blank sheet of music, with just staff lines and no notes. That way, if the melody should come back while I was doing Marseille's assigned homework, I could write the beginning down before it was lost to me again.

I disliked math. It didn't help that I could easily remember all the formulas and numbers without a problem. That way, I couldn't honestly say, 'I don't remember'.

I was halfway through the first quarter of the assignment when Mom knocked on my bedroom door and then opened it without waiting for my permission. "Sweetheart?" she asked, and I looked up even though I had slipped on earphones before starting. I was surprised I could always hear her over the music.

"Yeah?" I asked, fumbling for the earphones as I pulled them out as fast as I could without breaking them. Mom hated having to wait for me to take them out.

"I have to go down to the hospital to rescue Doctor Cullen from Trish. She's being unusually stubborn this time," Mom explained. "You left your cookies in the kitchen, and I put out some dinner options on the counter in case I don't come home soon enough to cook dinner for you."

"Thanks," I said, and then asked, "Is Trish boxing the doctor in or something?"

"God, I hope not. It's bad enough that she ambushed him by accident this morning," Mom said, and we both laughed slightly at Trish's desperation and Doctor Cullen's misfortune at having attracted her attention. "Okay, sweetheart, be good and don't open the door for _anyone_, etcetera, etcetera. You're practically almost sixteen, I don't have to lecture you anymore…"

"Okay Mom!" I said loudly, interrupting her. She gave me an irritated look for a few moments before I reminded her. "Trish, Doctor Cullen, saving, remember all that?" I asked, gesturing towards my door.

"Shoot, thanks Nessie. I'll be right back, don't forget!" she said before leaving the room altogether. I waited for a few moments before I heard her car engine turn on, and then fade as the car left the driveway in its rush to the hospital.

I never had the heart to tell Mom this, but the two of us didn't click. I saw her more of an older close friend rather than a mother. Dad had left us both apparently when I was still an infant, too young to remember him. Or at least, that's what Mom told me. I did have a memory of an older man than myself, but I somehow had the gut feeling that it was my father, the one that Mom _wasn't_ referring to. Then again, I didn't tell her about the weird dream I had every year on my birthday, the one where I was staring into the eyes of an older version of my self, surrounded in dark red blood.

I glanced at the digital clock by my bed, a reflex action. It was seven thirty-five p.m. Lexi's plans must've gone without a hitch after all since I hadn't been disturbed at all so far. I made a mental note to myself to stay up tonight since Lexi's phone call was supposed to come in at ten-thirty.

Sighing, I slid off the bed, my math homework a forgotten venture. I ate the two cookies as I walked downstairs, mentally taking note of how bland they tasted today. It had to be the moisture in the air, affecting the texture of the food.

It was weird how I've lived in a generally cloudy area for my entire life, and I'm only beginning to notice it now.

I sat in the kitchen, staring at the blank TV and idly wondering whether to risk Mom's wrath and watch that instead of completing homework. _It's not worth it in the end,_ I thought gloomily as I leaned forward and rested my head on my crossed arms on the kitchen counter.

_Clink!_

My locket. I completely forgot that I still had it on.

I sighed as I slipped my lucky charm off from around my neck, careful not to let it bang against the countertop. I held the locket against my hand so that I could once again examine the precious object, specifically the clasp. It wasn't really _broken_, but more like fused together. Mom had to tell me to stop trying to open it because I would run the risk of breaking the necklace beyond repair.

_Brring!_

I managed to snatch the phone before the second ring. "Hello?" I asked, now holding the chain up so that I could see the locket dangling in the air.

"_**Nessie? It's me, Lexi,"**_ Lexi's unusually anxious voice asked.

"Yeah? Did something happen, Lexi?" I asked, resisting the urge to roll my eyes even though Lexi couldn't see it. I tucked the cordless phone between my shoulder and ear so that my hands were free to put the necklace on again. As I did so, Lexi began speaking again.

"_**Yeah, something happened! Would we be having this conversation if nothing happened?" **_Lexi demanded her voice unnaturally high… the same volume level she used when she was panicking about something that involved her life. Before I could answer however, Lexi was talking again. "_**Know how Lianna lost the bet today? She apparently told one of the new kids that **_**we**_** set her up at lunch today! She and the football-player-kid person made some deal that ended with me here and my buddies **_**there!"**

"Dare I ask where 'here' and 'there' is?" I asked, looking around the kitchen for my coat. This was starting to turn out to be a SOS call.

"'_**Here' is hanging by my ankle in the custodian's closet and 'there' is somewhere in the school. The Volvo driver is also hunting my pals down; somehow he found out we were going to give the car a new paintjob,"**_ Lexi explained into the phone. "_**This is Bob's cell phone I'm using; Ms. Clearwater confiscated it from him today in class…pooh, hello, what's this?"**_

"Lexi, if you want my help, you've gotta tell me what you want me to do about this," I said as I heard sounds of Lexi straining to get the mystery object that had snagged her attention from her predicament.

"_**Cookie first, you second,"**_ Lexi replied irritably, and there were a few more straining sounds. _**"Okay, got the cookie. Now as for help, just call my mom and tell her where I am,"**_ she said, munching on something. "_**But in the meantime, it's going to be me and this yummy cookie…"**_

"How old is it?" I asked, not wanting to hear her answer but knew it was necessary anyway for her health.

"_**Relax. It's the same cookie that the custodian took away this afternoon. It's one of those cafeteria chocolate-chip cookies that the gym teachers all hate."**_

"I'll call your mom. Try not to get indigestion in the meantime. 'Bye," I said before hanging up. I put the phone off to the side and texted Mrs. Cromwell about Lexi's predicament, all as to the routine.

Poor Cullens. They were going to find out what Lexi's definition of 'vengeance' was tomorrow morning.

As I went back up the stairs to get a move on with my homework, the fragmented melody came whispering to my ears again.

---------------

A/N: Mistflyer back! I haven't been to Kennebunkport in three or four years, so I apologize if anything weather-wise is off the mark. Almost a month since the last update, whoops, sorry guys. Sometimes, a writer's block on one piece affects another (for me at least). I'll try not to let it go this long again. :) Finally, the chapter title is 'Melody' in French, and S&R stands for 'Search and Rescue'.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Dr. Carlisle Cullen

The phone rang.

I shoved aside my algebra and looked at the caller ID. It was Lexi.

"Lexi, what's up?" I asked.

"**Nessie…I need help. I can't get down…and I'm getting dizzy." **Lexi's voice came on the other end. I could tell she was serious. She was sounding frightened. I closed my notebook.

"Okay, hang on. I'll be there as fast as I can." I answered. I hung up and ran downstairs. Before I left, I scribbled a note to Mom in case she came home before I did.

Mom-

Went to the school to help Lexi. Be back as soon.

Love,

Nessie

I pulled my worn white tennis shoes on and tied a sweatshirt around my waist, even though I wasn't that cold. Pocketing my phone, I took off running.

Normally my mother discouraged anything that involved running. I had been born with some rare heart condition that caused my heart rate to be above that of a normal person. Apparently, that same condition caused me to run a temperature without actually being sick. The constant medical attention was annoying, but it had gotten me out of many a gym class. I had always been very good about obeying her orders.

But this was an emergency.

I tore down the street, almost as if I were flying. I felt a strange feeling of exhilaration that I'd never felt before. Of course, I was breaking at least five of my mother's rules; the ones about "compromising" my respiratory system and the ones about leaving the house alone after dark. At a traffic light I had to screech to a stop, tripping over my feet and falling to the ground. There were no cars coming, so I dashed across. I heard the screeching of tires and honking behind me, and when I turned, I saw the silver Volvo turning around the corner. I ignored it and continued running. It was strange. I'd been running quite a while, and I wasn't panting.

I continued running, splashing through the puddles that the rain had left. My jeans became soaked, but Lexi was more important than wet jeans.

I rounded the corner, knowing from ten years of living in this town that the school was a mile away from my home and that I had to get there soon. I knew Lexi would be ticked with me for taking so long. Fortunately, the school nurse stayed after school late in case she was hurt.

I kept running, my breath catching up to me, but I kept going. Lexi. She was important.

I ran and then I saw the large building that was my school. My cell phone buzzed again.

"Hello?" I asked, breathless.

"**Where. Are. You?" **Lexi panted into the phone.

"I'm at the school. Which janitor's closet are you in?" I asked.

"**Main hallway. Right by the main office." **She answered, then hung up.

I ran to the school. I tried the door that led to the office.

Locked.

"Damn." I swore under my breath, then ran across the parking lot. I would try the door there and run back across the school.

It was unlocked. I ran in and tore down the hall and saw the small door.

Carefully, I opened it. If she was tied to the door, I would slam her into the wall if I just swung it open.

Her ankles were tied and her body was pale, but her face was turning deep purple. Her fingertips were also dark red because her arms were dangling down and the blood was rushing down to her arms too. Her eyes flared at me when she saw me.

"Let me down.."Lexi said, gesturing with her head.

"What if you fall on your head?" I said. I thought about it. Maybe if I got a gymnastics mat from the gym…

"Just get me down. I can hit my head as long as I don't burst something in it!" Lexi snapped.

I climbed up onto a ladder and examined the rope. I had to admit, the knots were impressive.

"Interesting knot work." I commented.

"I know. The Cullen kid must've had like over a hundred years to practice." Lexi growled. I noticed she was panting.

Suddenly the rope just unraveled, like it was a slipknot. Lexi shrieked, and there was a terrible crash as she landed head-on hitting the floor. Her body crumpled and she didn't move.

"LEXI!" I shrieked, flinging the knife back on the shelf, and flipping her unconscious body over. There was a long gash down her forehead and all of the blood that had rushed to her head in the time she'd been upside down was rapidly flowing out. The smell of it sent a rake of fire down my throat, like a long forgotten thirst.

I placed my ear to her chest to see if she was breathing. She was.

I reached into my pocket and yanked out my cell phone. Flipping the phone open, I punched in 9-1-1, and listened to it ringing, my heart beating wildly out of control.

"**911 Operator. What's your emergency?" **A female voice asked on the other end.

"My name is Vanessa Woodrow. My best friend just fell from being upside down and she's bleeding on her head, and she's unconscious. We're at Kennebunkport High School. She's breathing." I gasped out, my panic caused me to hyperventilate.

"**Okay, Vanessa, stay calm. We're sending an ambulance. Don't move her, but keep her warm. She's going to be fine. Stay with me and tell me if anything changes."** The lady on the other end said.

I waited, the lady on the phone staying with me. I draped my sweatshirt on Lexi, knowing that it wouldn't help all that much. I gave her reports of Lexi and what had happened. Faintly I heard sirens.

"The ambulance is here." I said.

"**Your friend is going to be fine." **She said, then hung up. I got up and left the closet so they would know where. The paramedics rushed in, Ms. Clawson, the school nurse, jogging after them. I waved them over.

"Hey, Vanessa. Where's the patient?" Dr. Riley Marbles asked as he led the team that had the gurney.

"In the closet." I pointed. They entered, and lifted Lexi onto the gurney carefully and wheeled her out. Riley gestured for me to follow.

"You're the only one who knows what happened, so you should come along. The doctor at the hospital is going to want to know exactly what happened." He said. I followed him outside where the ambulance was ready to leave. I frowned as Lexi was loaded up into the back. Riley pulled me up and we were off.

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked, looking at Lexi.

"I'm sure she will. I haven't forgotten the snake bite back when you kids were in second grade." Riley said lightly, but I could hear the worry in his voice, which wasn't very reassuring.

Riley and the rest of the hospital staff were like my extended family. When I was little, I didn't have any day care to go to during the summer, so Mom ended up taking me to work with her. While she was busy, other colleagues that she worked with took turns watching me. I'd spent the most time with the receptionist. I also was in the hospital when I was little several times because of my heart condition.

I looked at Lexi, who was still unconscious. Blood was still oozing out of the wound on her head, and the other EMT besides Riley was pressing white gauze to the wound. There were several soiled pieces of gauze in tray next to her and the one she was pressing to Lexi's head was stained with crimson. The fire that had blossomed in my throat earlier had somewhat subsided, but was there like a constant pain in the background. I made a mental note to soothe it over with something cold to drink.

Riley was running over her vitals. Her heart rate seemed normal, and at least she was still breathing.

"I just hope she hasn't suffered head trauma. I'm also worried about her neck. There's a chance she's going to have amnesia…how hard did she hit her head?" Riley asked, checking her over.

"Pretty hard." I said. Riley shook his head skeptically.

"She'll live, that's good. There doesn't appear to be any head trauma, but I want run a CAT scan on her to make sure that there's no damage to her neck. Plus she'll need stitches. Do you have her mother's number?" Riley glanced at me anxiously. The ambulance swerved into the hospital parking lot. Riley and I stood up and readied the gurney that she was on.

We entered the emergency room. I helped Riley and the other EMT push Lexi in. Trisha met us at the door, her messy blond-brown hair all over the place and creating a sort of nice comparison with the whiteness of her nurse's uniform.

"Oh my goodness, what happened?" She asked, running over.

"She fell and hit her head straight on." Riley explained, wheeling the gurney in.

"I'll…I'll alert Dr. Woodrow." She said, turning to leave.

"Sure she will. She's gone off to find Dr. Cullen instead. I wish that lady would find someone and leave everyone else alone." The other EMT muttered.

"Why don't you call her mother?" Riley suggested to me.

Suddenly the receptionist said over the intercom, "_Dr. Cullen, please report to the emergency room." _I sighed. Lexi would be cranky enough, but if she woke up, she would surely try to get Emmett in trouble with the doctor. Also, since Dr. Cullen was coming, there was no doubt Trish would be along to 'help'.

I walked to a line of five purple plastic chairs that were located in the far, out of the way corner of the room and sat down. I dialed Lexi's home number and waited while it rang.

"**Hello?" **It was Timmy, one of Lexi's younger brothers.

"Hey, Timmy. It's me, Nessie. May I please speak to your mom?" I asked.

"**MOMMY!! NESSIE'S ON THE PHONE!!**" I heard Timmy shout on the other end. Then to me, he said, "**If you see Lexi, tell her that she's in trouble 'cause she didn't come home when was supposed to!" **

"I'll pass the message along. I just really need to speak to your mom." I said impatiently.

"**Vanessa? Tim told me you wanted to speak to me?**" Lexi's mom was speaking to me now.

"Yeah, I know where Lexi is. She was held up at the school and she fell and banged her head. She's in the hospital right now." I told her.

"**She's in the hospital again!!!? Oh, my baby! I'll be right there!" **Lexi's mother shrieked, then hung up abruptly.

I closed my cell phone and looked at Lexi. She was still unconscious, but her hand was closed into a fist. So she was going to awake soon. She'd be fine.

Suddenly the door opened. I turned and saw what must've been the famous Dr. Cullen. I saw the resemblance to the Cullen kids right away. His eyes were a golden brown, just like theirs. Like Rosalie and Jasper, he had blond hair, and like the rest of his family, he looked like a movie star, except on the set of a hospital instead of a school. Suddenly Lexi's description of the family didn't seem so exaggerated.

As expected, Trish came flitting after him. My heart dropped to my feet when my mother appeared, probably to keep her under control. We made eye contact, she gave the Look, I gestured towards Lexi, and she gave me an 'I expect an explanation later, young lady' kind of look.

"What happened?" Dr. Cullen asked Riley from where Lexi was.

"Apparently she fell in a closet and banged her head. She's been unconscious for about ten minutes, but she's breathing. Obviously she needs stitches on her head and I was thinking about running a CAT scan on her…" Riley explained.

While they were talking, I silently and quickly moved to a chair next to Lexi and listened to make sure she was still breathing. She was. I studied her face for any sign that she might wake up.

Suddenly her eye twitched slightly and opened halfway. There was a sort of confused dazed, foggy look in her eye.

"Messie. Com'ere." She mumbled, her words slurring. I leaned in to listen.

"Lexi, are you okay?" I asked. In the background, Dr. Cullen was starting to take notice of me sitting there, and Riley was offering an explanation to my presence. I ignored them. Lexi was important.

"Mim monna mil Mullen." She mumbled, her voice still slurring groggily.

"Lexi, you just had a bad fall. You're not making sense." I told her. Her arm shot up and grabbed me by the collar and yanked me closer to her abruptly.

"_I'm going to _kill _Cullen." _She snarled nastily at me, both eyes opened with a slightly crazed, almost insane look in her eyes. I glanced quickly at Dr. Cullen to see if he'd heard, and to offer an explanation. He was on the other side of Lexi with a raised eyebrow.

He'd heard alright. Great.

"Okay, why don't we get this young lady to the X-ray rooms and see what the damage is." Dr. Cullen said lightly, as though he hadn't heard Lexi's threat at all.

As if on cue, Trish appeared, although to her disappointment, Riley helped her wheel it out. If Lexi hadn't so seriously hurt, Trish's expression would have been comical.

But still, Lexi may have survived a rattlesnake bite with just a faint scar of two little dots on her wrist to prove the tale, but this was a head wound. I remembered from looking through Mom's medical books that head wounds were very serious. Internal bleeding in the head led to all kinds of problems, and then there was the whole "what might show up later in life" gallery of problems. I also knew that there was no way Lexi was going to be allowed to go to school tomorrow, and that meant she would miss mud-pelting Lianna, and that would make her very upset. Then there was her neck. There was no way a human could take a direct hit to the head like that and not have a neck injury.

"I'm sure your friend is going to be fine." Dr. Cullen's voice cut into my thoughts. I looked at him, and he was writing something in Lexi's file, but at the same time he was looking at me encouragingly.

"I know. She's tough." I said, smiling, trying to sound convincing.

"I can tell. She has…quite a medical history." Dr. Cullen answered, glancing down at her medical file.

"I know. She goes looking for trouble." I sighed, sitting down in one of the little plastic chairs that were scattered around the emergency room. I suddenly remembered the forgotten algebra homework sitting in my room and glanced at a clock.

8:30 PM.

"Do you need a ride home?" Dr. Cullen asked me kindly, noticing me looking at the clock.

"No thanks. My mom works here. She can drive me." I answered. Dr. Cullen paused, obviously running through the list of staff in his head, trying to find the one person who resembled me. "Dr. Woodrow." I supplied. He wasn't the first. I could guess everything about what my father looked like because I looked absolutely nothing like my mother. Many people had been pushed in the awkward position of not recognizing us as family, and Lexi swore that I was adopted.

"I didn't know she had a daughter." Dr. Cullen commented. I smiled.

"We look nothing alike. I guess I'm too much like my father. My name is Vanessa." I said. He smiled, and we shook hands. I noticed that his hands, unlike Riley's, were cold, and his skin was just as pale as the Cullen kids. That reminder made me think quickly back to Emmett and how he'd tied Lexi to the closet that got her in this position in the first place.

A strange feeling came over me as I reached for the handshake. As soon as I remembered finding Lexi tied up and her telling me who did it as we shook, I felt a strange feeling, like something was passing from my hand to Dr. Cullen through our touch. I would've sworn that I was imagining things, but a strange look had passed over Dr. Cullen's face in that moment, but he covered it quickly. But not completely. There was a strange confusion, suspicion, and a slight glimmer of hope in his eyes as he turned to the door where my mother was entering the room.

"She's going to have to stay in the hospital for a few days. There doesn't appear to be any damage to her neck, spine, or head for that matter. A large lump and bruise, maybe but she's going to have to stay in case something develops. What exactly happened? Riley said she fell." Mom said, looking at Dr. Cullen.

"From what I've heard, she was tied to a door by a junior at the high school and fell from there." He said calmly, shutting Lexi's file. I fought to keep off a frown.

I'd never told Riley or Dr. Cullen that she'd been tied up.

Or the fact that the person responsible was older than us.

-------------

A/N: Hey, its Fyrepen 33 again! Just to clear something that came up, the Cullens wouldn't recognize her (right away) because she's been living with humans for a while. Also, none of them have gotten close enough to touch her or smell her ( at least not before this chapter). Edward wouldn't hear her thoughts because he usually ignores the thoughts of the teenagers at school, and her mind would just blend in with the rest of them.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Spilled Blood

Mom was quiet the whole ride home; instead of letting me go home by myself on foot, she said she would drive me instead, seeing that she apparently couldn't trust me enough to _not run_ because of my heart condition. Before we left the hospital however, I caught Doctor Cullen staring after me thoughtfully, as though he knew something life-changing that I didn't.

"Are you done with your homework at least?" she finally asked as we pulled into the driveway. The car shuddered twice before the engine shut off completely.

"Yes," I said, feeling guilty for the lie as I did so. Homework was in a whole other dimension in my brain now and no longer was in the forefront of my mind. Instead, I was angry at Emmett Cullen. Yes, spray-painting cars was bad, but it wasn't worth killing a classmate over, especially an underclassman.

My mother went to the kitchen while I drifted back upstairs to my room. I shut my open textbook and then glanced over at the phone, trying to decide whom, if anyone, I could call. Lexi would love it if her friends secured vengeance for the committed crime, but I didn't want any involvement. Sometimes the safest thing was to sit out and watch as Lexi's gang went up against her current enemy. Then I wondered if she would be willing to put aside her hatred of Lianna long enough to put Emmett Cullen back into his place in the school hierarchy. It was true that Emmett was a junior and therefore a grade above us, but no matter the grade, new students were always rock-bottom for the first few weeks of high school until they'd found their niche in the school social system. Lexi on the other hand had juniors and two seniors in her pack, mostly made up of a group of friends that had known each other since middle school. The seniors I think however found Lexi to be very entertaining last year and had joined then. The Cullens hadn't been in town very long to find their niche, and until then, they were fair game.

I picked up the phone and dialed Mary Robinson, one of the two seniors in the pack. All I told her was that Lexi was in the hospital again, and that she wouldn't be there tomorrow.

* * *

As predicted, Lexi was absent the next day in school, but the pack knew that their leader was wounded and their pride was blown through. Before school started, as I made my way to the library to finish my homework, I found Jay Preston and Mary Robinson hanging out in the intersection of the senior and junior hallways, as though staking out the territory and keeping a wary eye out for any of the Cullens. Mary nodded as I walked past, but I could only imagine what they were thinking.

Jay cracked first. During the day, he struck the least expected of targets.

Fourth class that day was English. Like most of Lexi's teachers, Clearwater seemed unusually happy… at least compared to how they looked when Lexi was gracing the halls of Kennebunkport High. She smiled thinly as we walked in and settled down in our seats. "Today, we're going to start _Othello._ Yes it is Shakespeare, and _no_ we can't just skip it!" she said, directing the negative towards a few students who groaned the loudest. She walked over to a stack of small books and took the first seven off. "Pass them down," she ordered as she went back for the next stack. "We also _will_ be acting scenes out in class. If I had to endure that, then I think you can handle it too."

"Can we just watch the movie, take the test, and call it a day?" Steven asked as Ms. Clearwater set a stack of books down on my desk for me to pass back to the other classmates.

"If we just did the movie, then your intelligence would suffer a severe plummet, and I don't think that all of students can afford that," Ms. Clearwater said, glaring pointedly at a few students.

"_She_ must've been a real pleasure to have in class," Steven muttered to his neighbor to his right, who sniggered.

"I heard that someone dropped Cromwell on her head yesterday. She'll be upset at missing this," his neighbor muttered back. "She would've had Clearwater during long block today."

Ms. Clearwater made a pointed effort to ignore them. "We're going to be doing reading for homework, journal work and discussion in class. _Then_, if I feel like I'm in a good mood, we can do some reading in class as well. There will also be some pop reading-check quizzes to make sure you're actually reading and not looking at Spark Notes or something like that," she continued as she began passing out book slips.

"Yes, ma'am," two boys chorused at the same time in a faux obedient tone. Ms. Clearwater glared at them before placing the last pile of slips onto the last desk.

"Now I'm going to take attendance while you all fill those out. This is the English department, and the books cost seven-fifty each," Ms. Clearwater snapped as she went back to her desk and sitting down in front of her computer. I watched as she took attendance, and then she frowned halfway through. "Has anyone seen Miss Cullen today? I saw her earlier," she said, looking at presumably Edward in the back row.

"She's coming… I think," Edward said slowly, as everyone else turned around to stare at him. "She is here, she was with me in the last class."

"I'll mark her tardy for now. If she doesn't show up before the halfway point, then I'll have to mark her absent," Ms. Clearwater said, but her tone suggested that she couldn't wait for little Alice Cullen to show up late. "Now, back to _Othello!_ I will give you your blue journals tomorrow while we get started reading. We're going to start with a brief history lesson in the world that Shakespeare was living and writing in when _Othello_ came around. Please take notes, as this may or may not be on an upcoming quiz."

I pulled out my spiral notebook, wondering where the heck Alice could be. We weren't exactly friends, but I would hate it for her to get hurt somehow. I briefly wondered if Mary or Jay had anything to do with it, but then remembered how conscious Mary was about her still-perfect attendance record. Jay wouldn't do anything without her, so I guess the seniors were clear. I didn't worry too much about the few juniors Lexi had recruited; despite the fact that they were the more volatile members, they feared the teachers more than Lexi.

Halfway through taking notes, I glanced back at Edward, who looked unusually anxious as time wore on. Clearwater seemed to know that Edward was getting worried, but seemed to take care to either not notice or let it bother her too much. Finally, she passed out the journals, deciding that it was better to get them out now rather than later. Our first homework assignment was to read the first two scenes in the first act, and take notes. In my mind, that signaled a quiz the next day.

"Miss Woodrow, will you please stay behind?" she asked as the bell rang for dismissal.

"Um, yes ma'am," I said while biting back my impatience to get to the lunchroom, and walked up to her desk. I was still a little crabby from yesterday; the burning in my throat had increased from yesterday when I had woken up this morning, and Mom thought I was coming down with something.

"I know you'll be seeing Alexandra later today, so please inform her that her class will be beginning the book _Romeo and Juliet_ today," Ms. Clearwater said as she sat down and took a copy of the book from a nearby stack and wrote Lexi's name in it along with the room number. She took an empty book slip and tucked it into the front cover of the book. "Tell her that I expect the slip the first day she comes back," she added as she handed me the book and paper. At that moment however, the angle of her face seemed to tug at my memory, but like the haunting melody I could not put my finger down from where I had seen her before.

"Can't you just give her a copy of the slip that day if she forgets it?" I asked as I stuffed the book and slip into my backpack.

"Yes. I just want to see if she's responsible enough to start the term off to a good start… academically of course," she said, turning back to the computer. I watched as she changed Alice's slot from 'Tardy' to 'Absent', and then clicked 'Submit' on the attendance sheet. Then I decided to go to lunch.

Mistake.

In hindsight, it was probably better that I went off to my locker first to get rid of my backpack and _then_ go to lunch. That way, I could've avoided the confrontation.

When I walked in, battle lines were already drawn and both teams stood on either side of the cafeteria. Some students were rooting for specific people, in this case Jay Preston on one side and Emmett Cullen on the other. Other students were placing bets on how long both combatants would last in the imminent fistfight and who would be left standing. The rest of Jay's friends, the ones whom Lexi hadn't bothered yet, and her pack were shouting at him to wait for Emmett to swing first. The students who sided with Jay were taunting Emmett, while the Cullens' supporters were taunting Jay.

The rest of the Cullen family looked anxious however. Little Alice, back wherever she'd gone off to, was wringing her hands nervously as she stared off into space, as Jasper remained unusually still beside her, and even Bella appeared tense. Edward, and Emmett's girlfriend Rosalie, were both behind Emmett as though waiting to yank him back from Jay's challenge. Mr. Packard, one of the seven lunch monitors, was nowhere in sight; he was probably off to go summon reinforcements

"She's smaller and younger than you, and I was the one who tied Cromwell up. What did you want with Alice?" Emmett bellowed at Jay, who shrank back slightly. Jay seemed even more skinny than usual when standing next to Emmett… I silently put my bets on Emmett.

"She was the first one who walked through the senior hallway!" Jay shouted back, his voice cracking as he too realized the uselessness of the pathetic excuse. I slipped behind Lexi's supporters and made my way to sit down next to Mary.

"What happened?" I whispered to her.

She sighed, and said, "Jay was going to wait for Emmett until I pointed out that Emmett was bigger and stronger than both of us combined. So he couldn't make up his mind about what to do. So I went back to class. He must've been standing there indecisive until Alice Cullen came through the senior hallway, probably using it as a shortcut between third and fourth period. When he saw her Jay apparently made up his mind and pounced. Now the big Cullen is mad about it, making this the first real display of sibling loyalty I've seen in my four years at this school." She frowned, and then whispered, "I really hope they don't fight…we don't need more blood to be spilled."

Meanwhile Jay and Emmett were trying to either show off for the girl spectators or trying to intimidate their opponent. Finally Emmett snarled and advanced as though he was going to throw a punch while Jay crouched in preparation for a quick evasion. The rousing chorus of 'fight fight fight' was steadily increasing in volume. I stood up and opened my mouth to yell at Jay to back off; this wasn't worth it, the whole situation was being blown way out of proportion. I struggled to put a clamp down on my growing anger as Jay tensed even further, his eyes taunting Emmett on…

_Crack!_

"_Ahhh," _Lianna screamed, covering her mouth with her hands as Jay reeled back, Emmett stepping back in surprise. When he stepped around, I took several steps back as Lexi's supporters jumped back also. Blood was flowing from Jay's nose, seeping through his clamped fingers and dripping to the floor. For a split second, I stood there, staring at the blood with... _interest._ Each breath I took brought more pain to my already burning throat. I felt rooted to the spot as my brain remained indecisive over what to do.

Jay solved the problem by turning around to glare at Emmett, who had gone completely frozen at this point. Mary let out a shriek as Jay carelessly took his hand away and shook it into the air, flicking blood off to the side and spraying droplets everywhere. There were exclamations of disgust as students stumbled away from the line of fire.

The Cullens had unusual reactions. Like Mary and Lexi's other friends, they too had jumped back as soon as Lianna screamed. If possible, Jasper had gone whiter than usual, and Alice and Bella both were on either side of Jasper. The three of them were completely still. Edward seemed to have the sense to back away while Rosalie remained steadfast at her boyfriend's side.

"What… happened?" Jay asked in wonder as he realized that there was blood stained on his hand. His voice broke the silence that had befallen the cafeteria, and students were either shrugging or whispering to their classmates. Jay turned around to us, and I shrank back at the sight of the flowing blood. "Did de… did de hit me or did I combpletely biss somebing and walked into a table?" he asked, still sounding unusually calm for someone who had a possible broken nose. The blood was beginning to hinder his voice.

"Oh my God, he's bleeding," Mary whispered in horror as she turned away, fanning herself with her hand slightly. It hurt way too much for me to speak, so I just shrugged and backed away some more.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Mr. Packard, two minutes too late, thundered as he stormed in, two more teachers behind him. He came to a dead stop when he saw Jay, who was making another vain attempt to stem the blood flow. Instead of waiting for a response, he ordered, "Everyone injured or about to faint, sit down right here. Everyone else, _get out!"_

There was a mad scramble for the exit, a few more students getting injured on the way out. I made eye contact with Bella Hale for a few seconds, and she gave me a quizzical look as I finally clutched my throat and turned to flee. I tripped on someone's shoelace, and stumbled as I reached the cafeteria doors. There was another albeit small slash of pain around my neck as I finally made it to the corridor and went to the water fountain to soothe the fire in my throat.

It did little good, but it was better than nothing.

I was walking back to my long block class however, when I realized something horrible…

In the fight, the chain with my locket had snapped off.

It was gone.

_No._

* * *

When I got home, I was too upset over the missing necklace to play the piano, so I just wandered upstairs to do my homework. Downstairs, I could hear my mother moving around in the kitchen, preparing dinner to eat so that she could leave and go to her evening shift at the hospital.

I threw my backpack down on my bed, its contents spilling out over the quilt before flopping down on some free quilt. I closed my eyes, trying to think and get over the loss of the charm. But it hurt. I never knew where I got it, but it had been with me for as long as I could remember. It also never opened, so it was probably safe to assume that there was nothing in it at all.

I stared gloomily at the books that had spilled out. Math textbook, history, _Othello,_ biology, _Romeo and Juliet…_

Lexi!

Swearing to myself softly as I remembered what I had promised Ms. Clearwater, I snatched the book and stuffed in back into my backpack along with my other textbooks. I ran downstairs, where Mom was finishing up her pasta bowl. "Hey Mom?" I asked meaningfully as I put my backpack on the countertop where she could see.

"Yes?" she asked suspiciously.

"May I please come to the hospital with you? I need to deliver Lexi's homework, and then I'll do mine in the employees' lounge," I said, mentally crossing my fingers and praying she would say yes. We had done this sort of thing in the past, but when I was in elementary and middle school.

She sighed. "You'd have to get a ride home from Trish preferably or Doctor Cullen, whoever goes home first before eight," she warned. Trish we knew would gladly drive me home, but Mom didn't want to further burden Doctor Cullen.

"I know. I'll be quiet, you won't even know I'm there," I quickly assured her.

"Very well," she replied slowly, rubbing her forehead as she walked to the door to grab her keys and purse. "Get your coat, and let's go."

Nothing remarkable happened on that car ride. Mom listened to her favorite CD while I stared out into the gloomy darkness that was characteristic here in Maine in late autumn. School seemed like an ancient memory, and I felt tired. The burning in my throat was back, but significantly subdued. "Mom?" I finally asked.

"Yes sweetheart?"

"Can I have some painkillers when we get to the hospital?"

"Of course, you remember where they are," she said, turning to face me and smiled sadly. We remained quiet for the rest of the trip, and my thoughts seemed to get lost with the wind outside as soon as I had thought of them.

When we arrived to the hospital, I waved to Trish behind the reception desk as Mom hurried to her post in the ER. Trish didn't notice me; she was in the middle of her latest (and sixteenth) breakup, and was half wailing, half yelling at her three friends who were still comforting her. Checking to make sure that no one was watching, I slipped up the stairs and darted to where I knew Lexi was staying.

Finding her room wasn't hard; it was the only room with the sound of video games in it. "Hey, how are you doing?" I asked, coming through the entrance and sitting down on the single chair nearby. I set my backpack down beside the chair and I looked at her.

She seemed better, as in more active than yesterday. She hit 'pause' on the game, put the controller down on the bed, and then grinned broadly at me. "Hey, whatcha up to?" she asked, and then her eyes widened. "Oh man, please tell me you have edible food in there!" she said, spotting the backpack by my chair.

"No, sorry. Is the food really that bad here?" I asked, placing my elbows on my knees to lean forward a bit.

"Yes! I'm in the middle of a Cullen murder conspiracy," Lexi whispered, her voice dropping significantly. She looked towards the door anxiously before she whispered "Emmett didn't kill me when he tied me up in the closet, so now Doctor C is aiming to poison me with the hospital food here! How do I know for sure? He won't let my mom bring in _any_ kind of takeout or school food, yet expects me to eat what the hospital comes up with!"

"Oh, poor you," I said, and Lexi scowled at the sarcasm in my voice. "Well, Ms. Clearwater sends her greetings and a present," I continued, unzipping my backpack.

"Am I gonna love it?" Lexi asked, relaxing against her pillows again with a slight scowl on her face.

"No, you're not," I said, pulling out the _Romeo and Juliet_ book with the slip tucked in the front cover. "Ms. Clearwater wants me to tell you that your class will be reading _Romeo and Juliet_," I told her as I handed her the book. "She says to read the first two scenes in the first act."

Lexi stared at the book in horror. "Hand me that lamp," she said slowly, weakly reaching for the bulky bedside lamp that was just out of her reach.

"Um, why?" I asked. Surely she knew that she couldn't pound the book to death with it.

"So I can knock myself unconscious and stay in here longer, preferably for the rest of the Shakespeare unit," she said, making whimpering sounds as she strained for the desired object.

"Um, no. If you're in here longer, that means more of an opportunity to enjoy the hospital cuisine," I said, placing the book on her lap. She scowled crossly at it.

"Everyone forgot about Lianna and our bet yesterday, didn't they?" she asked grumpily, staring at the offending book nestled in the blankets.

"I think Jay wanted to wait until you got back," I lied, remembering that they had been more distracted by the fight in the lunchroom instead of the fact that they wanted to wait for Lexi to come back.

Lexi sighed, but suddenly stiffened. "Quick… it's Doctor C!" she whispered in a panicky voice. "I told him I was in no condition to have visitors just to prevent my mom from coming in and fussing over me! Quick, leave… sorry I'll call!"

"Why are you whispering?" I asked, quickly stuffing her book back into my backpack.

"'Cause his hearing is better than Marseille's!" she squeaked.

"I'll call your cell around seven tonight… or at least until after I have dinner," I promised. Lexi quickly nodded, and I darted out of her room and down the hall, once again ignoring my mom's rules about not running.

I didn't stop until I reached the employees' lounge. Thankfully it was empty, so I just placed my backpack down on one of the round tables, and settled down in the leather-padded chair with my biology homework.

No matter what I did though, the missing charm remained at the forefront of my mind.

------------------

A/N: Long, I know. I consider this to be the 'usual' length for one of my chapters, so please let me know if the length is all right and not overwhelming. Also, any opinions reflected by characters in this story do not in any way reflect the opinions of the authors.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Doctor's Curiosity

Thank goodness it was Friday.

But as fate would have it, I didn't go to school that day.

I woke up with an awful sore throat, and it hurt like hell. When I woke up, I didn't even bother trying to get out of bed because it hurt too much. My mother's footsteps up the stairs sounded like loud thumps to my ears, and I felt guilty for tapping the fishtank at the dentist's office when I was younger. At least my mother could be careful going down the stairs so that her footsteps didn't reverberate in my head. The fish didn't, and couldn't, have that luxury. The weird thing was that my head was unaffected, but my throat and nose was screaming at my brain at the moment.

"Sweetheart?" Mom said, coming into the room without knocking, despite that like any teenager, I wanted and loved privacy in my room. "It's almost six-thirty and the bus will be…" her voice trailed off when she saw that I was still lying in bed. "What's wrong sweetie?" she asked, frowning.

"It kills to just talk," I whispered, the words scratching against my dry throat. Mom frowned, and then I grimaced as she turned her head while looking for the tissue box, the air seeming to dry my nose out a little more.

"Hmmm, all right. You're staying home then," she said, walking over to the bureau and pulling out the dreaded thermometer. "I can tell you're sick, but if this damn thing says you're not, then I'll take you in this afternoon," she said, pulling the device out of the case. How it wound up on my dresser and not in the bathroom drawer, I didn't know. She sat down next to me on the bed, and, after checking her watch, stuck the device into my mouth. I didn't comment on the fact that we decided the thermometer was useless, seeing that I already had something of an abnormal body temperature. Since Mom kept forgetting that, she always went through the trouble of hunting down the thermometer.

"Mom, it doesn't work, remember?" I said, pulling the device out of my mouth. Mom opened her mouth to contradict me, thought about my words for a moment, and then shut it, acquiescing her defeat.

"I guess I will have to take you to the hospital later after breakfast, just to see if we can at least alleviate your symptoms," she said, running a soothing hand down my side slightly through the quilted covers. "Do you think you can eat anything?" she asked.

I shook my head. If I couldn't speak, what hope was there for eating?

She released her breath through her clenched teeth. "Okay, here's an idea. How about I take you to Crazy Pete's Saloon for breakfast _after_ the hospital trip? You love that place, remember?"

I grinned, remembering the dining place. The owner, Crazy Pete, was a Texan who had dehydration-induced visions in the town of Chaney, Texas when he was a younger man. He spent the rest of his life claiming that a veil had been pulled from his eyes and that 'vegetarian' vampires existed. Now he sat alone in the corner of his saloon, reconstructed to mimic the one in Texas. It was his extended family that turned it into a family-friendly restaurant. Pete would sit in the corner in his old wicker rocking chair, refusing to accept food from anyone who hadn't lived in Kennebunkport for more than ten years. But I had heard if you were brave enough to ask him to recount his adventures in Texas and listen to it all, he would gladly tell you _everything._

Figuring my silence was an affirmative response, Mom got up from the bedside. "I'll be ready to go when you are… just throw on a proper shirt and sweatshirt and we'll go," she said before leaving my room.

I just laid my head back on the pillows and closed my eyes, willing myself to get some rest. But my head was buzzing while my throat was burning. The food sounded tempting. Maybe if I didn't open my mouth or something, the burn would go away. I slowly sat up in bed. Then I automatically reached for the box on my nightstand that I kept my locket in, only to remember that it was still lost somewhere in the school. Unless of course, someone had taken it, which in that case I wasn't likely to ever see it again.

I swung my legs out of bed, and then slowly got up to my feet. I could hear Mom bustling around downstairs as I slowly got changed. Then I left the bedroom. I placed my hand on the wooden railing as I slowly walked down the stairs, grateful for remembering to put on socks. It was extremely foggy this morning, the cold and wet climate promising more rain later in the day. The floor felt unforgiving and cold as I padded down the stairs, careful not to get the hem of my pants stuck underneath my foot. Mom did that once. Slid down a few stairs, but walked away bruised and irritated.

"Come on," Mom said, coming around the corner and seeing me partway down the stairs. She was already wearing her coat and boots. She frowned, and then asked, "You're not going to wear your lucky charm today?"

Right. I hadn't told her about the missing locket yet. "Decided not to, not today," I said, not really in the mood to explain about the massive fight in the cafeteria yesterday. I bet to myself that Emmett Cullen got landed with enough detentions to keep him after school for a month, assuming he wasn't suspended, or worse, expelled.

Mom raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. She offered me my coat, and then walked to the front door, taking her keys as she did so. I slipped my jacket on, and then grudgingly followed her out the door. I wondered what treatment she was going to try this time, she had recorded several solutions over the years but had yet to find one that actually worked permanently.

"I wonder if there's a bug going around school. Lianna's mother called me this morning around six and asked me if I was keeping you home because she was keeping Lianna home," Mom said as we got into her yellow S&R vehicle.

_Or maybe Lianna is staying home because she was too delicate to handle the brawl in school yesterday_, I thought but knew better than to voice that thought aloud. Instead, I said, "Maybe so."

Mom scrunched her face up. "I wonder if it ever occurred to Ms. Thenson that she raised her daughter to be a delicate piece of china. Lianna acts like the slightest step will break her into a million little pieces," she muttered as she started the engine and pulled the car out of the driveway.

_You and me both Mom, _I thought, fighting back a grin. It never occurred to me that my mother and Lianna's parents would be at each other's throats also. Sweet. Mom fell silent, so I didn't contribute further to the conversation. The rest of the ride to the hospital was in a similar fashion, Mom making a comment every now and then while I just nodded in acknowledgement or agreement; my throat hurt a little more with every head movement she made, and I was close to outright asking her to just remain still for the rest of the trip.

"Oh shoot," Mom muttered as she pulled into the parking lot. I made the mistake of sneaking a peek to find that she had cut her finger on one of the dangling keys when she lowered her hand to turn the wheel. A small bead of scarlet blood was visible. I pressed my lips together and tried not to breathe, but failed. I suffered in silence as she parked her car in a spot next to a sleek Mercedes, in the 'Staff Only' spot. "One of these days, someone is going to take that car in vengeance or jealousy," Mom grumbled, gesturing to the Mercedes with her head while she wrapped her finger in a white tissue.

_Probably in jealousy,_ I thought as I got out, shut the door, and followed Mom to the hospital front doors, her grumbling the whole time about incorrect license plates.

"Doctor Cullen!" she shouted, entering the employees' door and putting on her white coat. "Cullen, you've got work to do on your plates!"

"Excuse me?" Dr. Cullen said, coming in and looking puzzled. I raised an eyebrow when Edward appeared at his father's side, but then looked at my mother.

"You still have Wisconsin plates on your car. I don't care if you're an awesome doctor, the police aren't going to care either way," Mom said as she tied her hair back before shoving her purse and lunch into her locker.

Dr. Cullen still looked confused, but Edward suddenly said, "Emmett," by way of explanation. Dr. Cullen then nodded and then offered an apologetic smile to Mom.

"Thank you for pointing it out Laura, I'll have it fixed when I get home today," Dr. Cullen said before looking down at me. "Vanessa, it is good to see you again."

I smiled and offered a little wave. "She's feeling sick today, so I thought I would check her over in the morning," Mom said, saving me. "Am I required somewhere?" she asked, noting that Dr. Cullen was dressed for an operation.

"Pregnancy in Room 12A," Dr. Cullen said. He gestured to Edward and said, "He's helping me out a bit today."

Mom scowled. "All right, Vanessa? Why don't you go see Lexi and I'll get to you as soon as I can?" she said, looking pointedly at me. Ah, right. She knew I rarely got sick, and that this complaint was not because of illness, but because of something else that was wrong. But for sake of appearance she would play the sick card. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward look at my mother as though reading her mind.

"I'll go with her," Edward offered, and I raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"No monkey business," Mom warned before leaving with Dr. Cullen. Edward and I started to move when Mom returned quickly and said, "Oh, and Nessie? I'll be looking for you in either Lexi's room or the employee lounge so be there."

I nodded, and then she left. Edward momentarily looked as though someone had slapped him, but he recovered quickly and resumed his normal expression. "You're not really sick, are you?" he asked suspiciously.

I shrugged. "My health has always been a little funky," I whispered. "My throat kills, but my head is fine. I always have a temperature, but I don't have a fever."

"Is Nessie just a nickname?" he asked, his eyes studying me critically.

I didn't like being under such scrutiny. "Yeah, Lexi came up with it," I said, hoping he wouldn't catch the little white lie. Mom had come up with the idea and started using it, Lexi just made it known throughout the school community.

Edward accepted my explanation. He just nodded, and then gestured for me to leave first.

We walked down the pristine hall. Edward seemed somewhat used to being in a hospital, but he just became a bit nervous when we passed the ER. I wondered if he planned to follow his adoptive father's footsteps and become a doctor also, but judging from the fact that his mouth was set in a thin line, it was unlikely.

As I expected, Lexi was playing a video game when we go to her room; I could hear the sounds of sci-fi zapping and explosions through the wood. I knocked softly, and at her shout to come in, I pushed the door and walked in.

She seemed much better, sitting up and focusing on the game. Her breakfast, a lonely waffle and banana, was sitting on her nightstand being ignored as she nibbled on a cookie she must have saved from dinner the night before. "Nessie!" she squealed when she saw me enter, but tehn I watched as the storm clouds instantaneously kicked in when Edward appeared behind me. "With Cullen Kid Number Three. Betcha you can hear me screaming for joy," she said sourly, her eyes narrowing significantly at Edward's appearance.

Edward frowned. "Where did the number come from?" he asked.

Lexi shrugged. "Heard your brother got into a slugfest yesterday at school. Figured I wasn't going to bother learning your names and keep track of everybody since some were going to leave and some were going to stay, so I numbered you off according to height," she said, pressing 'Pause' on the game and placing the controller on her lap, on top of the white patterned blankets. "The other two have significant inches above you."

"Emmett yes, Jasper not so much. How did you guess I was the third-tallest?" Edward asked calmly.

"Didn't guess. Researched," Lexi said smugly, holding up three manila folders. I bit back a laugh at Edward's slightly contorted expression as Lexi thumbed through his, Emmett's, and Jasper's medical records. "Tell Doctor C to keep better track of his stuff next time," Lexi said crossly, handing the folders over to Edward. She then turned to me and said, "How did you cut school and sneak past your mom?"

"I didn't, I'm not feeling that well," I said softly.

"What's your excuse?" Lexi demanded, turning to face Edward.

"Cullen Kid Number One," he said, his face twitching at the name.

"Is that going to be an universal excuse?" Lexi asked, and Edward nodded. Lexi leaned back in bed and said, "Now Kid Number Three, run along and give those back to Doctor C. Before he accuses you of taking them or something like that."

"Of course Cromwell Kid Number One. Doesn't make sense to upset the good doctor, does it?" Edward asked as he stood up. As he left I swear I heard him starting to laugh to himself.

"And I'm the _only_ one, and don't you forget it!" Lexi shouted after him. She flipped the bird after him as he shut the door, and then turned to me. "I feel bad for their mom, having to put up with all six of them," she said, leaning back in her pillow.

I just nodded.

Lexi frowned thoughtfully. "I need a way to get into their house from the inside. That's why I found an excuse to get rid of Edward," she said, remembering his name without difficultly. She looked over at me. "Think you could help me find a way in?"

"I hate to say this, but you would probably appeal to Emmett the most, with your trouble-making ways," I said.

Lexi laughed shortly. "Are you kidding? His girlfriend is nothing but a viper in a freaking dress. I've got better luck with Jasper," she said, picking the frayed edge of her blanket. She shrugged, and said, "Just help me think of a way to get in the inside. I need all possible intel for my war against Emmett Cullen."

"I think you'll lose," I said abruptly.

"I'll either win, or die trying. There is no 'lose'," Lexi said stubbornly as her door opened yet again. "When I get out of here Ed, I'm going to slam you for being rude and coming in without knocking…"

"It's just me," Dr. Cullen said soothingly, coming around the corner with his clipboard. I saw him take note of the untouched food and Lexi's defiant expression before saying, "Vanessa? Your mother is going to be occupied for a while, so I will be checking you over."

I nodded, remembering not to say anything about my already-wacky health history. I smiled once at Lexi before getting up to follow Dr. Cullen. "Hey, you wanna come back and have a fresh, nutritious and yummy hospital breakfast with me?" Lexi said.

I smirked and said, "No way Jose, I'm going to Crazy Pete's after this."

Lexi's mouth dropped open. "No fair! Take me with you! They're poisoning me here!" she yelled as I left the room, laughing at her reaction. Dr. Cullen smiled but didn't comment. Edward, who was waiting right outside, rolled his eyes at Lexi's evident immaturity.

"She has a new name for you, and it is 'Ed'," I said to Edward, who shrugged.

"Better than 'Cullen Kid Number Three'," he said as his father walked ahead of us. I noticed that Dr. Cullen had the manila folders again, tucked underneath the clipboard.

"Vanessa, I was just reviewing your medical history," Dr. Cullen said, Edward seemingly retreating back behind his father and I. "It's rather… erratic for a daughter of an EMT."

I smiled, and wished I could read his mind right now, just to see what his reaction was of my record. "Yeah, I hang out with Lexi. She gets us both into a lot of scrapes," I said, smiling casually.

"Have you ever met your father?" he asked, no doubt finding where it said my parents were divorced.

"No. Mom never talks about him," I said, trying to think if I remembered my father. I had to have seen my father as an infant at least, but it was just that Mom never said how old I was when he left. I couldn't think up of an image, not even a hazy outline.

Not now at least.

"Is your normal body temperature usually this high?" he asked, lowering the clipboard so I could see the number he was pointing to.

I nodded. "Scared the last doctor before Mom started treating me," I said.

Edward snorted softly behind me as Dr. Cullen nodded. "I can see why. I can see from your record that you were born in California, do you remember it there?" he asked.

"No," I said, my throat hurting with each word.

Dr. Cullen seemed to sense this. "Sorry about making you talk. Yes or no questions from here on out, I promise," he said as we entered a small examination room. I sat down on the bed while Edward took a nearby stool and Dr. Cullen stood at the counter. I looked around the room, and it had its usual jars, charts and other intimidating furniture. The only abnormal thing was that there was a small tray with three vials with stoppers on the counter also. I didn't need to ask about the deep crimson liquid inside the vials, just mentally prayed that they wouldn't break. "So it's just your throat?" Dr. Cullen asked, successfully recapturing my attention.

I nodded.

"Open your mouth then, and let me see the back of your throat," he said, picking up a small flashlight. Edward, I noticed, had also zeroed in on the three vials and seemed to be deciding whether to knock them over or put them out of sight where they couldn't bother him anymore.

Dr. Cullen didn't say anything, just scribbled something down on his notes. "Have you tried drinking something?" he asked, taking a small paper cup out of the dispenser and filling it with water from the cooler that was sitting in the corner of the room.

I shook my head.

He watched as I took the cup from him and drank a bit of it. I waved my hand uncertainly in the air to show that it had worked a bit, but not completely. Dr. Cullen nodded thoughtfully before taking the cup from me and filling it again. I was sipping that one when there was a knock on the door and Mom came in.

"Carlisle, have you seen… never mind, found her," Mom said, smiling when she spotted me. She was clean and back in her street clothes. "I guess I'll take her now… email me whatever you found. Thank you for looking her over," she said, and I sensed that she didn't want him to say the results now, where I was listening.

"I'll make sure he does that," Edward said from where he was sitting.

Mom smiled. "Such a considerate son, isn't he?" she said, smiling as I slid off the bed and walked over to her. "You know, has your family been to Crazy Pete's? It's a classic restaurant that tourists and residents go to. Maybe we can make an event out of it?" she suggested, and I could only imagine Pete losing the last bits of his sanity with the overflow of newcomers in the neighborhood.

"Sounds like a good idea. I'll mention it to Esme," he said, and Edward nodded enthusiastically. "Oh and Vanessa? Go easy on the food there, will you?" he added as left the room with Mom.

I nodded to him, and then the door closed. Mom let out a breath she had been holding. "Well, at least I have an idea on what I get to look forward to when I get back," she said grimly. She looked down at me and asked, "Did you see Lexi? How was she?"

I gave her a thumbs-up.

Mom laughed, and we left the corridor and into the lobby. Crazy Pete's, here we come.

**A/N: Mistflyer here again, we've been wicked busy lately, but we're back! :) Kudos to anyone who caught the 'X-Files: Bad Blood' reference.**


End file.
